Five Things We Want In Halo 5: Guardians

Today Microsoft and 343 Industries announced a new chapter in the Halo series for Xbox One. Halo 5: Guardians has the Game Informer office buzzing with excitement, discussing what we want to see in this next sci-fi FPS outing. From retooled multiplayer maps to a new protagonist, these are a few elements we want in Halo 5.

New Main Character – No, that doesn’t mean we want Master Chief to disappear. The Covenant Arbiter character helped round out Halo 2’s story by fighting alongside the Chief himself. In Halo 5, Master Chief will be fighting alongside, or perhaps against, a new character wearing what could be Forerunner armor. We’d love a single-player/co-op campaign that allows us to don the new hero’s armor. The shift perspective would also allow us to see Master Chief from an outside perspective and gain a new appreciation of his heroic actions.

More Compact, Action-Packed Multiplayer Maps – Halo 4 revamped much of the series’ legacy multiplayer standbys. Call of Duty-esque leveling and a new focus on precision-based twitch gunplay changes the feel of battle. In addition to these changes, 343 Industries increased the average size of a multiplayer map. The Halo series is known for its tight, distilled multiplayer map layouts. A great Halo map consistently puts players in line-of-sight with others, emphasizes verticality, and includes smaller breakout areas. We’d like a return to form in Halo 5.

New Enemies – New Halo developer 343 Industries shook up the single-player campaign by adding the Promethians to the mix. These glowing armored creatures and their crazy weaponry did much to shake up the standard Covenant-blasting formula. But Halo 5 has the opportunity to take the formula a step further. We’ve loved the parasitic Flood, Covenant enemies, and Forerunners featured so far, and hope to see something brand new.

Better Vehicle Sequences – It’s difficult to forget the first time players rode a Warthog across the lush surface of the Halo after crash landing in the Pillar of Autumn in Combat Evolved. Blasting other enemy vehicles and exploring the sprawling landscape captured Xbox owners’ imaginations. Fighting Covenant forces after boarding a massive, crawling Scarab is an equally exciting moment. We’d love more large-scale vehicular fights spanning open environments and frantic battlefields, all made possible by the Xbox One's powerful new tech. If our co-op buddy can simultaneously man a powerful turret, even better.

Improved Spartan Ops – With Halo 4, 343 Industries aimed to extend the life of its co-op action with free episodic expansions. It’s impolite to look a gift horse in the mouth, but we totally are. Spartan Ops failed to live up to its full potential. The extra episodes recycled campaign levels, attempting to weave in new meaning with disjointed story segments. We’d like to see new areas to play, and these sections should gel more naturally with the story sequences. Additionally, we’d like more unique encounters than waves on increasingly powerful Covenant forces. While 343 is at it, they should split off horde moments and bring back Firefight.